Display table



R. A. BLOOM DISPLAY TABLE Oct. 22, 1946.

Filed Aug. 17. 1944 JNVENTOR. Plc/fm1 A. BLoaM Arran/ys Patented Oct. 22, 1946 DISPLAY TABLE Richard A. Bloom, Kenwood Station, N. Y., as-` signor to Oneida, Ltd., Oneida, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application August 17, 1944, Serial No. 549,918

2 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in storage and display tables for silver, flatware and similar articles.

.It has previously been proposed to provide a table or other articles of furniture fitted with holders for such tableware. The use of such furniture, however, in conjunction with the merchandising of tableware, has met with the obstacle that display of the silverware and the furniture simultaneously in store windows and other locations presents considerable difliculty. Also, the space and general bulk required by conventional compartments, such as the typical pull drawer, has placed considerable limitation upon the use of such articles of furniture, whether for display purposes or whether sold together with the silverware or separately.

It is the general object of the present invention to .provide an article of furniture which is serviceable as a table or the like and at the same time providing for compact, convenient display and storage of tableware.

With this and still other objects, which will appear in the following full description, in mind,

the invention consists in the combinations, ar`

rangements of parts and details of construction which will now first be fully described in the following full description and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

Figure l is a perspective view of a table embodying the invention after a preferred form of embodment, showing the silverware compartments open,

Figure 2 is a central longitudinal section of the table of Figure 1, and,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, similar to Figure 2, but showing the silverware compartments in closed condition.

An article of furniture, according to the invention, comprises an upper part designated generally in the drawing by the reference numeral I and a lower part designated generally by the reference numeral 2, the part I including the silverware storage and display compartments and forming the top table surface 3, when in' closed condition, as indicated in Figure 3, while the part 2 may comprise merely table legs attached to the part I, as in the embodiment illustrated, or may take the form of a chest, radio cabinet or similar article of furniture, the top of which is formed by the silverware containing portion I. As will be apparent, the two portions of the articles of furniture may be integral with each other or, where (Cl. S12-163) desired, the upper part may be demountable so that the two parts are useable independently.

In lthe embodiment illustrated, the article of furniture takes the form of a table having four legs 4, which support the upper part I, previously referred to, this part comprising two silverware compartments 5 and 6, formed upon a common base or floor 1, having common front and rear walls `8 and 9 extending the width of the table, and being provided with side walls I0, II, I2 and I3, as shown. Both compartments are provided with slotted holders I4 and I5 for receiving stacks of forks, spoons or the like, and these are of known and conventional form. The inner surface of each compartment is preferably lined with soft surfaced textile material I6 and the holders I4 and I5 are similarly covered. The compartment 5 is adapted to hold stacks which may comprise considerable numbers of articles and which may substantially fill the compartment and is provided with a lid I'I carried on hinges I8 and held, when in open position as shown in Figure 1, by the jointed arms I9.

The compartment B, on the other hand, is of slanted cross section and of lesser depth than the compartment 5, being adapted primarily for the reception of single articles, or articles of which no great number are provided, such as carving forks, ladles and the like. The upper portion of compartment 6 is formed with a hinged lid 2Il, which has front, rear and side Walls, as shown, and is adapted for opening out flat into the position of Figures 1 and 2 by hinges 2| and by being so related to the outside of the Wall I3 as to abut thereagainst when in open position, as indicated at the point 22 of Figure 2. This lid section 20 may accordingly be opened out into the position of Figures 1 and 2 without excessive strain being put upon its hinges, and, as will be observed, the upper edges of the walls of the compartment 6 and lid member 2|! are substantially coplanar, slanting downwardly and outwardly as shown. The inside of lid 2U is lined around its back and front with similar material I6 and the bottom (when in open position) is formed by a removable lid panel 23, fitted. with loops 24 for holding table knives by their blades as indicated, in the case of a single knife, by dotted lines in Figure 1 and being provided with a loop 26 at one edge to facilitate removal. The cover panel 23 is held in position on the lid :20 by its pressure against the side walls thereof, as is common in padded silverware containers.

The holder I4 of the compartment 5 terminates short of the top of the walls I0, II, I2 and I3, as

shown, and this compartment may be provided with abutments 21 or other means adapted to support panel 23, so that panel 23 may be removed bodily from the cover 20 and placed in the compartment 5 as indicated in broken lines in Figures 2 and 3. The panel 23 may thus be shifted back and forth between the lidy 20, when opened, and the compartment 5 as desired.

When the chest is used for display purposes, it will normally be employed in the condition shown in Figure 1 and in this case practically complete visibility of all the contents of the three sets of holders is provided, due, first to the slanted side walls of the lower portion of compartment 6 and cover 20 and to the fact that compartment 4 will normally contain those articleswhich form a relatively high stack The chest may accordingly be placed eiectively in a window or other display location where the observers eye is only slightly above its level. When the chest is to be used for storage purposes in the home, knife holding panel 23 may be placed on the shoulders 21 within compartment 5 as shown, ready access to the contents of this compartment being still provided for by merely lifting the panel 23.

VAswill be apparent from the foregoing description, an article of furniture providing for effective display and very compact and accessible storage of silverware has been provided and, at the same time, the diiilculties inherent in the use of draw- 4 ers or the like for such heavy articles are eliminated.

What is claimed is: 1. An article of furniture for holding atware and the like, comprising, in combination, a lower supporting means and an upper container part supported thereby at table height, the said upper part comprising adjacent compartments for display and storage Vof articles, hinged lids for said compartments providing when in closed position a flat horizontal upper table top surface for the article of furniture, and one of said compartments having walls divided along an outwardly and downwardly slanting plane of division with the upper portions of the walls attached to the lid so as to form upper and lower sub-compartments, hinged means joining the upper and lower portions of the outer wall of the last said compartment, whereby the last mentioned compartment when its lid is open forms together with the lid display compartments having outwardly and downwardly slanting walls.

2. An article of furniture according to claim l, comprising also an article display panel adapted to t within the said upper sub-compartment of the divided compartment adjacent the upper edges of its walls and also adapted to t within the other compartment, and means within the last mentioned compartment for supporting the said display panel.

RICHARD A. BLOOM. 

